Refrigerants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), ammonia and the newer chlorocarbons are used in mechanical refrigeration and AC systems, in which the refrigerants are condensed and evaporated, typically at a low temperature. Inevitably, through use and sometimes from outside contamination, the refrigerants can become dirty and polluted, lowering the efficiency of the AC or refrigeration system and sometimes leading to corrosion of the pipes or tubes, as well as escape of the refrigerant. Typical pollutants are water and acids.
In the past, polluted refrigerants have usually been simply discarded, but this is wasteful and expensive. In addition, certain refrigerants are harmful to the environment. Ammonia is poisonous and CFCs deplete ozone in the upper atmosphere.
One solution to the problem of refrigerant pollution, which was developed by the present inventor, is to add chemicals to the refrigerant which react with pollutants to form useful or at least safe compounds. For example, dehydrating and acid neutralizing agents that will react with the moisture and acids in the contaminated refrigerant can be used as shown in Packo U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,631. Other Packo patents (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,331,722; 4,379,067; 4,442,015; and 4,237,172) disclose the reaction of additives with moisture to seal holes which develop in the pipes or tubes. And in Packo U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,388, a method is disclosed for reclaiming refrigerant by reducing its moisture content through the use of such chemicals.
Others in the art have developed reclaiming and recycling systems to purify refrigerant, as opposed to converting the impurities to another form. These other systems rely primarily on filters and/or temperature and pressure cycles that distill the refrigerant. They do not yield consistent purity and are expensive to manufacture, maintain and operate. Filters impede flow, become clogged, lose efficiency, and must be replaced. Distillation does not eliminate any impurity which has a boiling point that is not much higher than that of the refrigerant.